Keen to secure his political legacy, former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is campaigning energetically for successor Dilma Rousseff as she struggles to win a second term.
Lula, the 68-year-old former union leader who became president in 2003, was wildly popular for most of his eight years in office.
Now he is out on the stump backing the woman he anointed to carry on his work, wary that her defeat would remove some luster from his own achievements.
The charismatic Lula, whose Workers Party is seeking a fourth straight election victory, has been criss-crossing the giant nation, campaigning through the Amazon, in business hub Sao Paulo and from Mato Grosso in the west to Rio de Janeiro on the east coast.
With all the vocal power he can summon after overcoming throat cancer, diagnosed in 2011, Lula has been praising Rousseff and criticizing her rivals, not least ecologist Marina Silva, who served for five years as environment minister under Lula before quitting the party.
"Now is not the time to play with this country. It is time to elect the right person and that person is Dilma," said Lula as he hit the campaign trail in Amazonian capital Manaus.
"We've achieved a lot -- but much remains to do," said the former metalworker and union leader who famously learned to read at 14.
- Key help -
Analyst Andre Cesar, of consultants Prospectiva, says Lula's help is key if Rousseff is to win re-election with Silva, running on the Socialist ticket, chasing her down.
Polls have the pair currently locked in a virtual dead heat for an October 26 run-off.
"Lula's presence has always been very important. He possesses political leadership, that's a fact, and his help lends weight and consistency to Dilma's candidacy," Cesar told AFP.
Lula's engagement was even greater during the last campaign, when he anointed Rousseff, then a relatively unknown ex-minister, as his successor.
Rousseff, a trained economist, once looked set to emulate Lula by cruising into a second term, despite being less charismatic than her predecessor.
But her solid approval ratings took a dive in June last year, when more than a million people took to the streets to protest transport fare hikes and political corruption.
Now, Rousseff finds herself overseeing an economy in recession and a population laboring under growing personal debt, amid widespread doubt as to how the continent-sized country can emerge from the hole it is in.
- Reputation risk -
"In 2010, Lula didn't budge from Dilma's side," political analyst David Fleischer told AFP, noting he has been somewhat less visible this time around.
"At that time, she was an unknown; now she's not," Fleischer said, musing that maybe "Lula doesn't want to risk his image, his reputation" by associating too closely with an ally who might just lose.
Analysts believe Lula will, even so, be on the front lines as Rousseff heads to a likely October 26 run-off poll.
One role for Lula ahead of the expected run-off will be to canvass support among Brazil's many political parties, to ensure Rousseff can garner the support of a workable majority in Congress after the election.
Some in Lula's party had dreamed he would return to the presidential palace himself, setting up a "Come back, Lula" movement and harboring hopes of an eventual return in 2018 after he declined this time around.
"I don't see that happening, as he'll be four years older," Fleischer predicted.
But analysts see his enduring popularity -- he enjoyed approval rates of around 80 percent when he finished his second term -- as a major asset for Rousseff.
He can "attract the votes of those who don't back Dilma but are close to him," said Andre Cesar.
Lula, meanwhile, insists Rousseff can deliver, given time.
"My second term was better than my first, and I am sure that will be the case with Dilma too," he insisted.
Keen to secure his political legacy, former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is campaigning energetically for successor Dilma Rousseff as she struggles to win a second term.
Lula, the 68-year-old former union leader who became president in 2003, was wildly popular for most of his eight years in office.
Now he is out on the stump backing the woman he anointed to carry on his work, wary that her defeat would remove some luster from his own achievements.
The charismatic Lula, whose Workers Party is seeking a fourth straight election victory, has been criss-crossing the giant nation, campaigning through the Amazon, in business hub Sao Paulo and from Mato Grosso in the west to Rio de Janeiro on the east coast.
With all the vocal power he can summon after overcoming throat cancer, diagnosed in 2011, Lula has been praising Rousseff and criticizing her rivals, not least ecologist Marina Silva, who served for five years as environment minister under Lula before quitting the party.
“Now is not the time to play with this country. It is time to elect the right person and that person is Dilma,” said Lula as he hit the campaign trail in Amazonian capital Manaus.
“We’ve achieved a lot — but much remains to do,” said the former metalworker and union leader who famously learned to read at 14.
– Key help –
Analyst Andre Cesar, of consultants Prospectiva, says Lula’s help is key if Rousseff is to win re-election with Silva, running on the Socialist ticket, chasing her down.
Polls have the pair currently locked in a virtual dead heat for an October 26 run-off.
“Lula’s presence has always been very important. He possesses political leadership, that’s a fact, and his help lends weight and consistency to Dilma’s candidacy,” Cesar told AFP.
Lula’s engagement was even greater during the last campaign, when he anointed Rousseff, then a relatively unknown ex-minister, as his successor.
Rousseff, a trained economist, once looked set to emulate Lula by cruising into a second term, despite being less charismatic than her predecessor.
But her solid approval ratings took a dive in June last year, when more than a million people took to the streets to protest transport fare hikes and political corruption.
Now, Rousseff finds herself overseeing an economy in recession and a population laboring under growing personal debt, amid widespread doubt as to how the continent-sized country can emerge from the hole it is in.
– Reputation risk –
“In 2010, Lula didn’t budge from Dilma’s side,” political analyst David Fleischer told AFP, noting he has been somewhat less visible this time around.
“At that time, she was an unknown; now she’s not,” Fleischer said, musing that maybe “Lula doesn’t want to risk his image, his reputation” by associating too closely with an ally who might just lose.
Analysts believe Lula will, even so, be on the front lines as Rousseff heads to a likely October 26 run-off poll.
One role for Lula ahead of the expected run-off will be to canvass support among Brazil’s many political parties, to ensure Rousseff can garner the support of a workable majority in Congress after the election.
Some in Lula’s party had dreamed he would return to the presidential palace himself, setting up a “Come back, Lula” movement and harboring hopes of an eventual return in 2018 after he declined this time around.
“I don’t see that happening, as he’ll be four years older,” Fleischer predicted.
But analysts see his enduring popularity — he enjoyed approval rates of around 80 percent when he finished his second term — as a major asset for Rousseff.
He can “attract the votes of those who don’t back Dilma but are close to him,” said Andre Cesar.
Lula, meanwhile, insists Rousseff can deliver, given time.
“My second term was better than my first, and I am sure that will be the case with Dilma too,” he insisted.
